Throughout this specification reference to "guns" is to include reference to handguns and other related products. Although a holster for handguns is described, it will be realized that the present invention could be used in relation to many other products which are used in related fields such as, for example, holsters or ammunition containers for magazines or speed loaders and the like.
There have been numerous prior art holster designs which have eliminated retention straps and/or flaps to hold the handgun in the holster. Some of those designs have been described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,420,420, 3,923,214, 4,205,768, 4,925,075 and 5,167,355. Of particular interest are those holster designs which use reinforced holster bodies to place tension on the handgun such as Kippen (U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,214) and Hill (U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,768). What these designs have in common (Kippen and Hill) is that the body of the holster wraps around the top of the handgun, specifically the barrel and/or slide of the handgun. If they place tension on the handgun they do so by applying it to the body of the firearm. Kippen specifically applies pressure to the cylinder of revolvers and it is unlikely that the design would retain a flat sided autoloading pistol. While Hill addresses "pistols of the clip-fed .45 caliber type hand guns" and the Hill design uses a holster body or "boot" with "skirts" which exert "a clamping force upon the barrel of the side arm" it still wraps over the top of barrel and is adjusted underneath the frame of the handgun. This design provides for a large bulky holster.
There also have been designs which have wrapped the holster body underneath the handgun such as Rogers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,075) and Hill (U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,355) but these holsters use mechanical devices to retain the handgun in the holster.
It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a holster which minimizes the bulk of the holster and does not require a mechanical restraint to hold the handgun in the holster.
A further object of the invention is to provide a holster which has a spring like reinforcement, which combined with the unique shape of the holster applies tension to the handgun barrel and/or slide and allows the user to easily adjust the amount of tension on the handgun with a spaced retention device.